Sunday, September 30, 2012

spice chart update

A few weeks ago I posted a spice chart. I found the third page that I didn't know was missing. It includes spices for mediterranean and Indian foods. Here is the updated version of that post


Spice it up.


I have been on a journey to eat real food. Going from already spiced prepared foods to real food was a challenge. One of the troubles I have had is spicing things up. I started noticing that all my food was tasting the same. I was using the same 5 or 6 flavors in all my food.   I needed help! 

How does one know what spices to use? I was given the advice to let your nose guide the way. Smell the spices together and see what your nose thinks, start experimenting. It was all good advice, but what came in helpful was the spice guide that I have put below.

A word of advice do not start with those spices that have been sitting for years and years, throw them out and start over. Many of the spices lose their flavor after a while. Some say to replace all the spices every six months. For many that is not practical advice. I would say pick a spice to replace every week or two until you get them all replaced.  It worked for me. I am using them more often now, so I am rotating through them.
© Vally | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos



HERE ARE SOME SPICE GUIDELINES TO USE IN YOUR COOKING

For spanish food try some things like
basil, bay leaf, garlic, onion, mild paprika, parsley, peppers (sweet and hot), saffron, lemon, wine, butter, olive oil, mild white cheese.

For French food try things like
basil, bay leaf, celery seed, cardomom, cloves, dill weed, garlic, horseradish, marjorom, mushrooms, mustard, nutmeg, nuts (almonds, walnuts), onion, paprika, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme, lemon, wine vinegar, wines, sherry, vermouth, butter, olive oil, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, swiss cheese

For Mexican food try
cumin, basil, chili powder, cilantro, lime, garlic, onion, oregano, peppers (sweet and hot), tamarind, tomato dry red wine, lemon, olive oil, cream cheese, mild white cheese, sour cream.

For East European food try
caraway, dill (seed and weed), horseradish, mushroom, onion, paprika hot, parsley, poppyseed, lemon, cider vinegar, dry red wine, sherry, butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, yougurt

For Italian food you could try
basil, bay leaf, garlic, marjarom, mushroom, corriander, onion, oregano, parsley, peppers (sweet and hot), rosemary, saffron, thyme, tomato, wine vinegar, marsala wine, butter, olive oil, hard sharp cheeses, mozzarella, ricotta

For Chinese food try
Anise,cinnamon, cilantro, cloves, garlic, ginger, fennel, five spice powder, mushrooms, mustard, nuts (peanuts, almonds cachews), onion, peppers (hot), sesame seed, soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine vinegar, peanut or soy oil, sesame oil, tofu
For Mediterranean food try
Basil, cinnamon, cumin, dill weed, garlic, mint, onion, oregeno, parsley, peppers (sweet or hot), rosemary, sesame (tahini), lemon, vinegar (cider or wine), dry red wine, butter, olive oil, feta cheese, goats milk cheese, sour cream, yogurt
For Indian food try
cardomom, cinnamon, cloves, corriander seed, cumin seed, dill (seed and weed), fennel (seed and root), fenugreek, garlic, ginger, mustard seed, nuts, onions, peppers (hot or sweet), poppyseed, saffron, sesame seeds (tahini), tomato, tumeric, lemon, lime, butter (ghee), peanut oil, mild curd cheese, yogurt



Good luck and Happy cooking

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Park Hopping

It was such a beautiful fall day, I just couldn't resist taking my girls to the park! It was so nice for them and me also. This time of year is a perfect time to take a break and enjoy a park hopping experience.

What is park hopping? Park hopping is the perfect way to spend a nice warm day jumping from one park or playground to the next. We live in an area where there are dozens of parks and playgrounds within a ten mile radius. We have two within easy walking distance from our home.



                           © Bobelias | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos


                           Park hopping in 3 easy steps


Step one: Gather your gear, appropriate clothing and shoes for the children, sunscreen, a good book etc.

Step two:  Pack a lunch

Step three: Find some parks or playgrounds. Play for a while and then find another, Enjoy as many as time an energy allows.


We had a great time today. My nearly four year old decided that she could swing high up to the sky when she pumps her legs back and forth. She was so proud of herself. That alone made our day.

Monday, September 24, 2012

easy green chile cheese puff

 



The other day when I found cottage cheese on sale I could not pass it up. It was dated that day and needed to be used.  I found a recipe that is a keeper

 

super easy green chile cheese puff


5 eggs beaten
2 cups cottage cheese (16 oz container)
1 cup jack cheese
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1  can diced green chile (4 oz)


Mix all ingredients together and pour into a greased 9x9 square baking pan. 
bake at 350 for about 40 minutes until set and no longer wet in the middle  Serves 6

I did make one change. The original recipe called for 1 cup cottage cheese and 2 cups jack cheese, but I switched the two. I wanted to use the entire container of cottage cheese and only had about a cup of jack cheese on hand.  The results were yummy.

We have made this recipe several times since. The entire family really enjoys it.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Is it an eating apple or a cooking apple?

                                                             http://www.stockfreeimages.com/



Fall is in the air. Time to pick the apples. What does one do with all those apples? Apple pie, cobblers, cakes, tarts, applesauce, apple crisp, baked apples, caramel apples. There are alot of posibilities; not to mention eating apples fresh from the tree.

 I have fond memories of Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. The campground there is sourounded by apple orchards. The deer come down into the orchards and graze.There are at least 5 years that I remember going there with my family during a fall break. You could pick all the apples to eat while you were there, and any you wanted to take home were sold at a minimal price. Those memories are very pleasant. 

Some apples are good for cooking and some are better for eating, but how does one tell the difference?

There are some lists and guides out there that are helpful. I have included a link to one below

link to a list of apple varieties and uses

What if you don't know what kind of apple it is? Take Grandma's orchard for instance. We do not know  the names of any of those apples growing there. One of the best tips I have heard. Look at the base of the apple. A dimpled bottom is more suited for eating fresh. A smooth bottom apple is one that is better suited for cooking.
Take the picture above. The red one on the left has a dimpled bottom. It would be better for eating. The one on the right seems to have a smoother bottom. It would be better suited for baking. The taste will also tell you alot about the the fruit. Eating apples will tend to be sweeter and have a light juicy texture. Cooking apples will be more tart with a heavier more dense texture that holds up better in cooking.

There is no real harm in using an eating apple to cook with; just as there is no real harm in eating a cooking apple. So what is the big deal? There can be some texture differences, for example; if an eating apple is used, apple pie may turn into an applesauce pie. (Still very yummy). A baked apple is another example. For a nice presentation you want an apple that will hold its shape,and look like a baked apple and not a baked apple mess.


All this apple talk has made me want to go out and pick a fresh apple from our tree.







Thursday, September 20, 2012

leftovers with purpose

A few months ago I wrote a post about making three meals out of a couple of steaks. The link is below
making three meals from a couple of steaks here are some more thoughts for repurposing leftovers


© Bberry | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

I love to cook meat and then extend it into several meals. A budget freindly cut of beef is the london broil. It is good eats and usually large enough to make several meals.

Recently we cooked a London broil and then made two other meals out of that meat

Meal 1 We made a large london broil. It turned out fabulous. We ate our fill for dinner along with some side salads.

Meal 2  We used the sliced beef to make a wonderful sandwich. We sliced a loaf of french bread in half and filled it with the meat, and piled on the toppings (avacado. peppers, onion, lettuce, tomato, olives)

Meal 3 Fajitas. Grilled meat with spicy peppers and onions wrapped up in a warm tortilla, what could be better than that.


If you have never had london broil or flank steak you are missing out on a great opportunity. These two cuts of meat give you alot of bang for your buck. 

When cooking a london broil or flank steak there are three basic rules to remember

1. marinade
2. cook to a medium rare
3. slice thin against the grain

I wrote an earlier post about marinades I have included the link below

marinade 101


beef marinade

4 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 of a medium onion grated
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
juice of half a  lemon
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon worchestershire sauce
11/2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 teaspoons spanish paprika
mix all together and pour over 11/2-2 pounds of beef

I marinated this last london broil for about 3 hours, I then cooked it on the grill. You could also broil it. (hence the name london broil)

A good rule of thumb for cooking flank steak and london broil is to cook it about 10 minutes for each inch of thickness. Typically they will cut london broil about 2 inches thick. (cook for  about 20 minutes) Flank steaks are usually a bit thinner 1 1/2 inches thick (cook for about 15 minutes)  Once cooked let sit for several minutes for the juice to settle back into the meat.

Slice thin against the grain. What does that mean you may ask?  The link below explains it in great detail with pictures.
seroius food how to slice meat against the grain

In simple terms. Meat is a muscle of the animal. It can be hard work for our teeth to tear through that muscle. The goal of slicing against (or across) the grain is to cut the muscle into short strands that are easier for us to chew. Look at the meat and you can see the muscle fibers. This is expecially easy to see in a flank steak or in the picture above (it was cut the wrong way just so you know). If you slice this steak in the same direction as those lines, you'll have to chew through the fibers; whereas if you cut through them, the knife will have already done that work. Think of it similarly to slicing a stalk of celery. The strings are less likely to get caught in your teeth if you cut those strings into smaller lengths. You want to cut the meat fibers (strings) into short edible peices. if you cut alongside the fibers, you end up eating something more like a rubberband instead of nice tender meat. 

We love london broil and flank steaks. We love the versitility they provide for us. I love getting the most out of my food budget. 



Tuesday, September 18, 2012

BE YOUR OWN KIND OF SUPERMOM


Are you trying to keep up with that  "SUPERMOM"?  You know the one I am talking about. The woman who seems to have it all together.


At the start of the new school year, I see all the parents and kids off to school. I see the mother's on the PTA. Little girls in perfect dress. All over the internet I see the cute ideas for making the first day of school perfect. Parents going to extra lengths to make the day so special. We got up and had a regular breakfast. We got dressed and walked to school. It was mostly an ordinary day. Am I a bad parent because I do not do all these extra things?

Maybe I should have made a special breakfast? Maybe he needed a new backpack? Is he wearing the right clothes? Does he fit in with all the other children? I was taken away in thought, back to a time when I was working as a young adult. One of my coworkers was so disguisted with her son. She had been working many overtime hours to buy him the Jeans that were "the in thing".  She bought them for him, and of course he would not wear them. He did not care about it, but she did. All these things go through my mind and then... I am reminded of a talk by Dieter F Uchdorf about the forget me nots,expecially the part about wise sacrifices vs foolish sacrifices.  "Am I commiting my time and energies to the things that matter most?" 

Here is a link to that talk.

Dieter F Uchtdorf forget me not talk


As a society we put such demands on ourselves to keep up with others. I was reminded of a time just after my youngest was born. She was born early Sunday morning. By friday; I was ready to be out of the house just for a while. It was the neighborhood Halloween party that evening. They were having a chili cook-off dinner, and a carnival for the kids. It seemed like just the thing. My Husband and I  managed to pull together a pot of chili. We happened to win 2nd place. One of the ladies said "Oh now you have done it, you have really raised the bar for all the mothers in this neighborhood!" "what do you mean?", I asked. "Now everyone will think that they have to win a cookoff just after they have a new baby!"  I did not feel like a "supermom" at that time. I was just doing what I needed to survive, yet everyone was looking at me like I was superwoman.

We find this with bloggers. We see all the great things bloggers are doing. We revere some ot them as superwomen. We think that we have to be the same as them. We over run ourselves with all those things we could be doing, and we forget the little things. Tara at simply made home wrote a great post this week about when the realities of life and the blogging world collide. link to simply made home blog.  In this post she paints a real picture of her real weekend. I am grateful for bloggers who get real about life. I can laugh and cry with them also.

I am finding that in writing this blog, sometimes I forget the purpose of it which is; to help others slow down and live life. TO LOVE MY FAMILY WELL IS THE HEART OF WHO I AM!  It is the purpose of this blog to help others to love their families. WHEN YOU LOVE YOUR FAMILY WELL, YOU WILL BE YOUR OWN SUPERMOM. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO IT LIKE ANYONE ELSE DOES.

so now...... Go and create your own kind of wonderful life.











homemade granola clusters

 This recipe I have had for a long time. It is an easy recipe for beginers that are starting a healthier lifestyle. All the ingredients are easily accessible in your local grocery store, or you may have in your pantry.


Homemade granola clusters

preheat an oven to 350

in a very large mixing bowl  toss together the dry mix
8 cups rolled oats (or other rolled grains)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups of nuts, seeds, and or coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt

wet mix
1/2 cup oil
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons vanilla
1 Tablespoon maple flavoring

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until blended
pour out onto two cookie sheets breaking the mix up into small clusters
bake in a 350 oven  for about 30 minutes stirring halfway through and breaking up any big bunches
This makes soft baked clusters. for a more crunchy cluster, bake about 15 more minutes.


This is a great starter recipe for those trying to go a little healthier. When we began we would add some granola clusters to our regular breakfast cereal. It is good mixed in with a flake cereal. It helps the children feel full longer. It is also really good mixed with fruit and yogurt.
I have included a link to our homemade yogurt adventures below

homemade yogurt

Thursday, September 13, 2012

no wonder we have a sugar addiction/crisis


                                                            © Andrzej5003 | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos





I have been steadily preserving the harvest for the last several years. I find pride in seeing my full jars lined up like little soldiers. There is nothing better than home canned fruits.

One thing that disturbs me is the amount of sugar in the jams and jellies. I made some raspberry jam a few years ago that was so over-the top sweet. I couldn't eat it. This comes from a woman who five years ago, could not get enough sugar, and nothing was too sweet. I was suprised to find something too sweet. It blew me away.  When you have sugar amounts that are more than double, sometimes nearly triple the amount of fruit, something is wrong. When I made jam this year, I was also shocked to see corn syrup in the recipe. I also noticed that my pectin has dextrose as the second ingredient. Dextrose is yet another sugar, and one that my body does not tolerate well.

I have been under the impression that to make safe jam and jelly you have to use the pectin and the recipes included with the little box of pectin.  My eyes have been opened.  My friend Caleb Warnock wrote about making very low sugar blackberry jam. 91/2 cups of berries and only 1 1/4 cup sugar. I was surprised, then I realized this is how jam used to be made. Take fruit at peak season and cook it down with a bit of sugar until the natural pectin comes out. What has happened to that? We got in a hurry!

I am ready to slow down and create real fruit jams. I have discovered that people are really busy and do not want to spend the time nor energy to make "real" jam and jelly. It is process that does take a bit of time and skill. It also can easily scortch and burn. I found that out the hard way when I wanted to make orange marmalade. The pectin box had no recipe. I got online and found several recipes that did not require pectin. I ended up burning the batch. I think I will take Caleb's advice and cook the jam in a slow oven, or in the crockpot. I look forward to creating and eating food the way it was meant to be.


I have included a link to that post by Caleb below (Oh how I wish I could have attended his class where he was teaching about the jams and jellies)

Caleb Warnock low sugar blackberry jam

also a link to a previous post about the cornsyrup in my jam

http://mkeckblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/strawberry-saturday.html

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Homemade tortillas


I love homemade tortillas and they are so easy and inexpensive to make.  I don't make them all that often because we tend to eat twice as many as we should.  They are a simple yet yummy addition to any meal.


                                                       

my tortillas




  HOMEMADE TORTILLAS
3 cups flour I used 3/4 wheat and 1/4 white
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2  cup fat melted  (You can use lard, shortning, butter, or oil)
1 cup warm water

That is it!   5 ingredients.  You can use any kind of fat and flour you have available (I don't recommend olive oil because of its strong taste) 

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and fat together with a fork.  add the water and mix  until you have a nice dough should be nice and not sticky, if it is sticky add a  bit more flour

Let the dough sit and relax for 5-10 minutes.
heat a skillet for several minutes on a medium- high heat. You want a hot pan to get that toasted flavor and brown spots.  I have tried to use the electric griddle, but mine did not get hot enough  (it cooked the tortillas, but did not get good browning) they were not as good.

Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces roll each dough ball flat and paper thin on the counter

my not so round tortilla dough rolled out with the cooked tortillas in the background


Carefully transfer the rolled dough to the hot skillet and brown on each side This takes about 10-15 seconds watch carefully because they can burn quick at such high heat. 



They are ready for eating. Store any leftovers (if there are any) wrapped tight in the fridge. 


Make these sometime they are yummy!  like I said earlier, I don't make them all that often because we tend to eat twice as many as we would store bought.  

Monday, September 10, 2012

What happens when junk food enters back in.

© Thephotoguy | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

We have been steadily increasing our good food habits and slowing down on the junk food. It is making a real difference. I really noticed a difference in the kids yesterday when we did not eat any real food. It was my middle child's birthday. Along with tradition I let her choose the meals on her "special day". 

We broke from real food for the day. We ate meals that the birthday girl requested. We had cinnamon rolls and tang for breakfast. We did make them 1/2 whole wheat (I will include a link for the rolls below). She wanted french fries and toast for lunch. We opted to have chicken nuggets and fries. We made the fries, but had processed nuggets. I made fish for my husband and I instead of chicken.  While I had a nice batter made, I decided to make chile rellenos. Yummy battered deep fried green chile stuffed with cheese. Of course cake and ice cream for dinner, Not to mention a full size candybar for each of the kids.  (They got a candy bar for participating in the childrens program at church. They did such a great job and I was so proud of them.)  I was so full I did not eat dinner, but fixed cheese quesadillas for the children. as a side note we did include applesauce.  A year ago this might have been a typical kind of day, but no more. 

the effects still continue this morning.

Getting the children to settle down for evening was a real chore. They were so wound up, yet so tired.. The littlest one just whined and cried. I did not sleep very well, and I feel terrible. I notice the effects on me as well as the kids.  Everyone this morning has been sluggish and tired. Everyone has been really iritable. We have had alot of fighting and bickering this morning. I see that the effects are wearing off slowly, I hope by this afternoon we will be a bit back to normal. It will be interesting to see what happens next. We will be sure to talk with the kids about the effects that yesterday's choices had on us.


This morning, a couple of comments on facebook caught my eye. One person was struggling with "I will not secumb to cookies", yet another had some things to say about the blankety blank vegan diet she was on. One person posted a picture with a saying about the importance of feeding our kids real food instead of processed foods. Her comment about the picture intrigued me. She said "so hard, but so much better for us!" 

In the beginning, it was hard to make changes to our diet. We are still a work in progress. It will be interesting to see what choices the kids will make for their birthday meals a year from now. My sister has started eating real food, She is looking to buy some things for Christmas. She asked which was the best choice for a first purchase, a wheat grinder, an electric pressure cooker, or a stand mixer. She has borrowed Mom's grinder, but which other appliance does she want for the holidays? Then she posed the question "Will we still be eating this way long enough to justify these purchases?" I hope that she will make it a way of life. As for me, after this weekend I can see the effects are worth my efforts. We will continue this process as a way of life.
NO MORE PROCESSED FOODS, GIVE ME REAL FOOD PLEASE!





cinnamon roll recipe







Friday, September 7, 2012

Spice it up.




I have been on a journey to eat real food. Going from already spiced prepared foods to real food was a challenge. One of the troubles I have had is spicing things up. I started noticing that all my food was tasting the same. I was using the same 5 or 6 flavors in all my food.   I needed help! 

How does one know what spices to use? I was given the advice to let your nose guide the way. Smell the spices together and see what your nose thinks, start experimenting. It was all good advice, but what came in helpful was the spice guide that I have put below.

A word of advice do not start with those spices that have been sitting for years and years, throw them out and start over. Many of the spices lose their flavor after a while. Some say to replace all the spices every six months. For many that is not practical advice. I would say pick a spice to replace every week or two until you get them all replaced.  It worked for me. I am using them more often now, so I am rotating through them.
© Vally | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos



HERE ARE SOME SPICE GUIDELINES TO USE IN YOUR COOKING

For spanish food try some things like
basil, bay leaf, garlic, onion, mild paprika, parsley, peppers (sweet and hot), saffron, lemon, wine, butter, olive oil, mild white cheese.

For French food try things like
basil, bay leaf, celery seed, cardomom, cloves, dill weed, garlic, horseradish, marjorom, mushrooms, mustard, nutmeg, nuts (almonds, walnuts), onion, paprika, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, thyme, lemon, wine vinegar, wines, sherry, vermouth, butter, olive oil, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, swiss cheese

For Mexican food try
cumin, basil, chili powder, cilantro, lime, garlic, onion, oregano, peppers (sweet and hot), tamarind, tomato dry red wine, lemon, olive oil, cream cheese, mild white cheese, sour cream.

For East European food try
caraway, dill (seed and weed), horseradish, mushroom, onion, paprika hot, parsley, poppyseed, lemon, cider vinegar, dry red wine, sherry, butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, yougurt

For Italian food you could try
basil, bay leaf, garlic, marjarom, mushroom, corriander, onion, oregano, parsley, peppers (sweet and hot), rosemary, saffron, thyme, tomato, wine vinegar, marsala wine, butter, olive oil, hard sharp cheeses, mozzarella, ricotta

For Chinese food try
Anise,cinnamon, cilantro, cloves, garlic, ginger, fennel, five spice powder, mushrooms, mustard, nuts (peanuts, almonds cachews), onion, peppers (hot), sesame seed, soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine vinegar, peanut or soy oil, sesame oil, tofu



Good luck and Happy cooking.

As an added note: I found another page to my notes that includes spices for Indian and Medditeranean dishes. I added that info to a new post and have included the link below here

link to updated spice chart







shared at thrifty home

Thursday, September 6, 2012

our continuing adventures with the natural yeast



                                                                      © Jura13 | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

We are continuing on our adventures with healthier eating. It is a challenge as the kids are back to school to pack a healthier lunch for them. Sandwiches are a favorite because they are easy and portable. Having a good bread is a real blessing to us.

The natural yeast is starting to work well for us. We are making bread every couple of days. The loaves are turning out alot lighter and tasty. We are getting the hang of waffles and pancakes too. On Sunday we had blueberry pancakes made from the yeast with strawberries and whip cream. It was such a delightful meal.

If you missed the earlier posts about  baking  with the natural yeast the links are below

our first adventures with natural yeast

best ever waffles made with natural yeast

I did not know how much of a difference it was making until my husband went to the store to buy a sandwich. He looked about, and finally settled a roast beef sandwich on a whole grain bread. He said that the bread was just "nasty" he was not impressed. The flavors of the natural yeast are so much better than the commercial stuff.

I recently read an article about the amount of salt in comercially prepared bread. It is a bit shocking, but not totally surprising to me. I have found that when food is devoid of nutrient rich flavor, salt and sugar added to make it taste better. Bread made with white flour "needs" more salt  than wheat bread to boost the flavor. I have found that I need less salt and sugar when baking with the natural yeast.

I have included a link to that article below

Dr Axe bread is worse than you think

I have recently been reading about whole grains and preparing them. I have been learning the art of cooking and soaking grains. That is part of the reason that the natural yeast is so good for us. It breaks down the grains to be more usable by our bodies. There are several articles and blogs out there that explain the art of soaking grains so much better than I can .The links are below

soaking grains and flours for optimum nutrition

nourishing gourmet soaked grains

nourishing gourmet soaked grains part 2

I hope that you will find this information useful as I have.









Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Dandelions


Here is a little something that I ran into amongst my things this week.




© Mirselena | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

Dandelions

 by Marlene Harris Austin

Once, long ago, when dandelions were beautiful flowers and I was pretty whether my hair was combed or my dress was starched and I could still love people even if I spelled it with a "U",  I was happy to be me.
I could dance and run and sing, I could silently watch a stream or sit long hours in a secluded tree. I was happy and I was free.

Then someone kindly informed me that dandelions were weeds. They told me I would only be pretty if my hair were brushed one hundred strokes every day and my dress was clean and ironed and my shoes and socks matched.

Then, I was the prettiest when I had the same color ribbons to wear in my hair, and purse to go with them, and a coat with the right color boots, and then, of course, an umbrella to protect my hundred-stroked, (softly curled- to- subdue- the- look -of- my -somewhat -sharp- features-, cut- in -the- latest- natural- blow-dry-, then -curl- with- a -curling- iron -which- takes -no- less -than- fourty-five- minutes- a -day)styled hair.

Somewhere in the flowering dandelions and the blow dry hairdos, I gave you the power to hurt me. Now I am taking it back.

I will dance and run and sing. I will silently watch a stream. I will sit contently for long hours in a tree, or under a tree, or near a tree, or far from a tree; Or I'll stand by a tree, or I'll lay beneath a tree, or I'll kneel beneath its spreading branches and never once worry about what you would say if you should see me; or what you would think if you didn't find me where you thought that I should be.

I will be me. I will see beauty in a rusy can, and if I don't, I won't. And what you say, one way or the other will not change what I see or what I feel about it.

I will see beauty in me. There is beauty there. And if I do not brush my hair for three weeks, and if I cannot afford the latest boots, I will  still be beautiful to those who care.

And you, you who would not care, From you I relinquish the duty of judging. I am taking that responsibility back and giving it to me.

And since I am taking it back, I plan to change. I plan to pick a bowl of dandelions soon, and make a chain, and curl their stems in water. I plan to stand out in the rain and let my hair curl to a frightful frizz. And I plan to spill some apricot jam off the slice of toast onto my blouse, and not change it all day. and then, perhaps, I'll find that I again can love. And who knows, maybe I'll spell it with an "O" 

Marlene Harris Austin



I put this out there for those who have let their dreams be squashed; who have forgotten how to love themselves (myself included). TAKE YOUR LIFE BACK!  LOVE AS YOU WERE MEANT TO!
LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, DREAM!